Witnesses: Ex-Easton chief choked teen

Charged with simple assault, the middle school officer is on trial.

November 06, 2007|By Tyra Braden Of The Morning Call

The lone adult to witness a tussle between former Easton Police Chief Stephen A. Mazzeo -- who works now as a police officer for the Easton Area School District -- and a 14-year-old middle school student testified Mazzeo was "out of control" and screaming when he choked the boy and slammed him into a wall.

Maryann Wujkiw, secretary to Shawnee Middle School Assistant Principal Gina DeBona, told Northampton County jurors Monday she heard student Dustin Fernandes make a remark about Mazzeo's breath. Mazzeo, she said, had been screaming at Fernandes, who, she said, never raised his voice but said several times, "Get out of my face."

The trial, which began Monday for Mazzeo, 52, of Palmer Township, charged with simple assault and harassment, is set to resume this morning before Judge Paula A. Roscioli.

Mazzeo, an Easton police officer more than 20 years, was promoted to chief in 2004 by Mayor Phil Mitman, who later forced Mazzeo to retire in 2005 after officers rebelled against his leadership. Mazzeo joined the school district's security force July 1, 2006, and authorities said the confrontation with Fernandes occurred seven months later in January 2007.

Wujkiw said she heard DeBona say, "Dustin, this is not funny." Fernandes and Mazzeo left DeBona's office.

Mazzeo began yelling, she said, and Fernandes "was just standing, just standing with his hands at his side. I never heard him raise his voice."

Moments later, Wujkiw said, "I heard Dustin say, "You have bad breath. You should brush your teeth.' There's no doubt in my mind that made officer Mazzeo angry." She said Mazzeo "said something" that she couldn't hear. "That's when he threw him against the bulletin board." The impact knocked a photograph off the wall, she said, and the glass broke.

"He [Mazzeo] was holding him by the neck, choking him," Wujkiw said. She said she ran to DeBona's office and said, "I think officer Mazzeo's losing control. We need help." DeBona, she said, summoned another school police officer.

Fernandes, now 15 and living in Nebraska, said he had gone to DeBona's office because he lost his student identification card. DeBona, he said, told him he'd have to pay $5 if he wanted a new one. Fernandes said he was upset and angry and, as he walked out of the office, said, "It just doesn't magically disappear." Mazzeo, he said, who was in the office throughout the conversation with DeBona, approached him and said, "If you have something to say, turn around and say it like a man."

"I turned around and I said it -- my ID didn't magically disappear," Fernandes recalled. "He was up in my face." As Mazzeo continued to yell, Fernandes said, Fernandes told Mazzeo, "Get out of my face." Fernandes said he kept his arms at his sides.

Fernandes said matters escalated when "I told him his breath stinks and he needs to brush his teeth. He grabbed me by my neck and then he threw me up against the wall." He also said Mazzeo choked him.

"Did you attempt to fight back?" Assistant District Attorney John L. Obrecht asked.

"No, sir," Fernandes said. Throughout his testimony, Fernandes maintained a calm demeanor, referring to both Obrecht and defense attorney Marc Neff of Philadephia as "sir."

Fernandes said he's not sure how Mazzeo managed to put him on the floor, but he recalls that once he was down, he heard Mazzeo say, "You're gonna bust my teeth, huh?" Fernandes said Mazzeo handcuffed him tightly. Jurors saw photos taken later the same day. They show marks around Fernandes' neck and wrists.

Shawnee Principal Stephen Furst said he saw no injuries on Fernandes after the incident. He said he began an investigation and took statements from everyone involved. He said Mazzeo was "very calm and in control" when he talked to him immediately after the incident. Nothing in his behavior, Furst said, indicated he had lost his temper.

Fernandes "smirked" and said he wasn't hurt, Furst said.

Cassandra Lopiccolo, a 14-year-old student, was working in the office at the time. She said that when Fernandes was in DeBona's office, she heard Fernandes say, "Well, you shouldn't have lost my ID." She said Mazzeo and Fernandes walked into the secretary's area.

She said Mazzeo was yelling and, "Well, he threw him [Fernandes] against the wall." A picture frame fell and broke, she said, "Dustin was on the floor. Officer Mazzeo was like sitting on him." She said she heard Mazzeo say something to the effect of "You're not gonna bust me in the teeth."

Asked where Fernandes was when the comment was made, Lopiccolo said, "I think he was on the floor."